Spend Money to Earn Money?
Sounds pretty absurd, if you’re not familiar with Rakuten.
Rakuten is a browser-add on that gives you cashback for purchases you make on sites like…
It gives back a percentage of your purchase when you do your regular shopping (groceries, home items, etc.).
It’s not a lot, of course. But I do get $40-$60 about every quarter. And over a lifetime?
That’s pretty dang good, even if it’s spread out over a few years!
Tech Trick Explained
First, head to your browser store and find the Rakuten extension (here’s the Chrome extension).
Next, you’ll sign up for Rakuten. Now, I am NOT nor have been paid by Rakuten for this. BUT, they do have a referral program that earns you a few extra dollars when folks sign up through your link. So, with that in mind, here’s the link via my personal referral code. If you’re adamantly opposed to that, just sign up through their site. (This is the type of “Minnesota Nice” I am!)
Make sure that once you’ve signed up that you’ve also logged into Rakuten via the browser add-on (click the purple “R” icon).
There are TWO ways to find out which shopping sites are affiliated with Rakuten (not all are).
The first is to shop normally – hit up Target’s seasonal sales, shop for kids’ clothes at Old Navy, build a custom shoe at Nike.com. (Still not getting paid for this…)
If you land on a site where you can earn cash back for your purchases or coupons (YES!), the Rakuten icon will flash red/pink (you can argue about the color in the comments),
Clicking on the icon will bring up this little screen.
Click on the “Activate Cash Back” at the top. It’ll then tell you the cash back has been activated.
**Be sure to STAY in that same browser tab once you activate it. OR you can wait until you’ve got your cart set, then activate and pay. Once you exit the tab, it’ll reset — meaning you won’t get the cashback.**
The second way to utilize Rakuten is to browse their website.
The cash-back rate changes frequently, so using their website is a good way to see which retailers are having “sales.” I should note that it can definitely cause spending – but if you have some wishlist items, flag them so you can check every so often to see if you can snag them for cheap.
Other than having to remember to not close out of the browser tab once you turn it on, Rakuten is a super easy way to earn money back on stuff you’d buy anyway!
